P.J. Tucker took a physical beating beneath the basket so the Rockets could deliver the series-clinching blow to the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

When starting center Clint Capela rested or drifted to a secondary assignment, the Rockets tasked Tucker, their bulky 6-6 forward, to take on the biggest burden defensively.

Tucker absorbed the brunt on switches, bounce off screens and beads of sweat shed from Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

After Towns plowed Tucker backward with a spin move, Tucker glared at the official and turned his palms to the sky.

"It was ridiculous," Tucker said of facing the skilled big man with a 6-inch height advantage. "Sometimes you get those beatings. It's hard for the refs to realize the physicality of different moves, and how natural some more are."

But Tucker stood his ground well enough. The Rockets felt comfortable letting Towns, a 7-foot scoring wizard, abuse undersized defenders for 23 points. Towns could not match their pace on his own.

When Houston buried the opposition with an insurmountable lead in the third quarter, James Harden rose for 15 points, while Tucker dug his heels in behind Towns. Both Rockets played 10 minutes, 52 seconds in the most important stretch of the game.

"When he's down in the post, he loves that physicality," Chris Paul said. "He wants all that action."

"Defensively," Paul added," he's the anchor."

Tucker also pitched in 15 points, sinking five of seven 3-pointers.

"Timely shots," said Paul, a fellow North Carolinian. "Big shots."

But the numbers in a box score do not capture Tucker best. Density might measure him better.

"Tuck got a brick wall," Paul said.

For all the ways that acquiring Paul enhanced the offense this year, Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute bolstered the defense, which kept the Rockets in games when their rain of shots dried up, as it had for long stretches against the Timberwolves.

"This series, man, we didn't make shots very long," Tucker said.

Only once in five games did the Rockets make more than 35 percent of their 3-pointers in the first half.

Tucker enables the versatility and space that drive the Rockets' analytical edge. They outscore most opponents when they out-shoot them. As he had many times before, Tucker catalyzed those advantages and revealed several intangibles on Wednesday.

"He's been so valuable to us," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "His tenacity on defense, how he talks, how he always rotates the right way, takes a physical beating, but he's also giving out a physical beating. It's not easy to bang with him.

"He's so important for us—not his shots. I don't care. It's his spirit. His heart and soul, his toughness makes us a gritty, tough team on defense. That's where we get over the hump."

D'Antoni could not keep from highlighting Tucker's high-percentage shooting.

"P.J. hit a couple daggers in the corner. That is his spot."

With a win appearing more inevitable as minutes in the fourth quarter passed, Tucker got to the corner and craned over. He opened his palms again, this time eager to receive the ball and force Towns into a chase.

Harden zipped a pass to Tucker and Towns lunged with an outstretched hand at the apex of his reach. Tucker gently rose and released.

Feeling assured of the shot's outcome, Tucker started his jog up-court, while Towns turned to watch the ball swish so hard that the net flew up through the rim.

D'Antoni put in the backups and the crowd chanted "Na Na Hey Hey" to finish the final 47 seconds. The last player to mince off the court was Tucker.

At 32, Tucker made another stride toward his best chance at playing in the NBA Finals. He did not need extra ice or treatment after the game. He did not feel like there was a need for recovery.

Hunter Atkins joined the Houston Chronicle in April 2016. He has written for Rolling Stone, Forbes, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Popular Science and ESPN The Magazine, among others. His assignments have ranged from an investigative article on gun violence in Chicago for Rolling Stone to the story of the world champion in competitive stair climbing for the New York Times.